Unite, Connect, Reflect & Inquire
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With the verbal cue "connect" after an instant activity or skill builder and a lively piece of transition music students gather in a semi-circle in front of the bulletin board and white boards to unit as a group, connect to the lesson's learning targets, and/or run through a cognitive thread by using a memory circle. The same is true for the end of class. After a bit of equipment management and a drink or two, this is also the place that we "reflect" and have some class closure. This sounds like a lot but once the routines and rituals are learned and established they really don't take much time and serve an important purpose in the learning process. The links here connect you to some connect & reflect routines/rituals I am currently using and some that I have used in the past.
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2015-16 Bulletin Board
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Connecting & Reflecting
I CAN Pages contain portfolio style pages with "I Can" statements and Personal Record Challenges that can be used during a themed unit.
Helping Kids See The Target is a method of room arrangement that utilizes an episodic memory strategy. I am not currently using his but have had success with it in the past. It incorporates an episodic memory strategy.
Rhyme & Rhythm all help with memory when paired with semantic learning. I often use rhymes I have written and published to help kids connect to the "think abouts," skill cues, or my favorite "body look-fors" for particular skills. This is an example of a Kicking Rhymes I use with my students when connecting to learning targets.
Connecting & Reflecting in 2015-16 - The building and thoughts behind the 2015-16 bulletin board.
Primary Reflections - A way for Kindergarten, first and even second grade students to use visual images to reflect after class.
Glows & Grows - A super simple reflection/debriefing tool that can be used with any age group.
Helping Kids See The Target is a method of room arrangement that utilizes an episodic memory strategy. I am not currently using his but have had success with it in the past. It incorporates an episodic memory strategy.
Rhyme & Rhythm all help with memory when paired with semantic learning. I often use rhymes I have written and published to help kids connect to the "think abouts," skill cues, or my favorite "body look-fors" for particular skills. This is an example of a Kicking Rhymes I use with my students when connecting to learning targets.
Connecting & Reflecting in 2015-16 - The building and thoughts behind the 2015-16 bulletin board.
Primary Reflections - A way for Kindergarten, first and even second grade students to use visual images to reflect after class.
Glows & Grows - A super simple reflection/debriefing tool that can be used with any age group.
Cognitive Threads
To me, the cognitive threads serve to weave everything we teach in physical education together. They are the bits and pieces of knowledge that we can call up and refer to in order to deepen understanding and further connect the learning. Designing simple ways in which to help students develop this knowledge during the connecting and reflecting part of the lesson throughout the year, instead of as "one hit wonders" helps cement neural connections for lasting memory. Here I have shared some methods I have used and found successful over the years. To see them in action you will need to visit me at school.
Muscle UP is a method of teaching the muscles of the body with rhythm, movement and rhyme. It has several levels and once learned can be connected with many lessons. For instance, we use knowledge of our rotator cuff when we are learning racket skills.
Memory Circles - I use brain compatible learning methods to thread some of the cognitive learning in physical education through a series of lessons or unit. One way that I have had a lot of success with is a memory circle. This same format can be used to create unity within the group when learning a poem together. My third and fourth grade students have enjoyed learning an "I Can" poem about positive thinking and it has served us well when gearing up for a challenge.
Moving To Learn - Interdisciplinary Threads - Creating an interdisciplinary thread that involves movement does several things. It teaches children about a valuable learning tool that they all possess and take with them everywhere - their bodies! And it creates a way to model for classroom teachers methods of using the body to create multi-sensory learning experiences in the classroom. Moving Multiples is one adventure I have embarked on with my first and second grade students. We are all learning as we go and having fun doing it.
Muscle UP is a method of teaching the muscles of the body with rhythm, movement and rhyme. It has several levels and once learned can be connected with many lessons. For instance, we use knowledge of our rotator cuff when we are learning racket skills.
Memory Circles - I use brain compatible learning methods to thread some of the cognitive learning in physical education through a series of lessons or unit. One way that I have had a lot of success with is a memory circle. This same format can be used to create unity within the group when learning a poem together. My third and fourth grade students have enjoyed learning an "I Can" poem about positive thinking and it has served us well when gearing up for a challenge.
Moving To Learn - Interdisciplinary Threads - Creating an interdisciplinary thread that involves movement does several things. It teaches children about a valuable learning tool that they all possess and take with them everywhere - their bodies! And it creates a way to model for classroom teachers methods of using the body to create multi-sensory learning experiences in the classroom. Moving Multiples is one adventure I have embarked on with my first and second grade students. We are all learning as we go and having fun doing it.
Building Unity
Building and developing a sense of unity within a class serves to meet basic needs and strengthen the whole. It begins with teaching self-regulation and social intelligence skills. Self-regulation is a foundational skill necessary for all learning.
HEY PARNTER! - An online Round Robin generator allows me to quickly create all the possible partnerships for each class, tack it to the wall and have them ready to use whenever needed. My kids know that at one time or another they will be partnered with every person in the class. This is one way we work on social intelligence skills, partner decision-making and conflict resolution. Since I implemented this process into all of my classes I have seen dramatic growth in students ability to work with each other. The social intelligence skills they are developing will serve them well.